


Three Tales to Tell

by EtherealOmega



Category: Flight Rising, Lego Ninjago
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-25 22:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9849425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtherealOmega/pseuds/EtherealOmega
Summary: These three tales though some directly intertwined and some not are the inside look at some very precious dragons. They make their way through life looking for peace. Some find it, but others are left to fight their inner demons.





	1. Troy: A Waking Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> These were commissions for Anubiis on Flight Rising. Their lair is the link below if you'd like to go check them out.  
> http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=userpage&id=195681
> 
> I do apologize for any OOC which may occur for Cole and Zane. I'm not familiar with the Ninjago fandom honestly, but I did try my best for the person who asked for the commission. ^^"

A dragon once rambunctious with those he cared for now fallen silent, Troy watches from his shadows often the only things visible of him being his bright yellow eyes and the swirling mark of Shadow upon his sealed tomb. Few of his current clan members know of his existence due to his shadowy existence, and of those who do, not many choose to attempt a conversation with the Ridgeback. However, most those who do receive short muted response in return. Most being the key word. For a few - those few being Cole the Snapper who took him in as a son when he returned from his isolation, Tia his little sister who always seemed to make her way into his head, and Anna his mate even before the incident which stole away any pure feelings he might have had - may still draw conversation from him in the way it used to come should his mind not be so preoccupied by the wrongs of his past.

It had been a long day of silent watchfulness, and with a quiet sigh the large male pads off from his post towards his shared den. He knew sweet Anna would be waiting for him probably worry some wondering if today would be the day he would once more leave. He had promised her he would never leave her - or their clan - again, but at the same time he knew she was no fool. She saw right through the guarded eyes into the deepest part of him: into the swirling darkness of fear, and grief, and madness within.

Stepping through the entryway, he is immediately greeted with a quiet humming and the feeling of his mate’s hide and the white leather she wore brushing against his flank. With a light nuzzle himself he reassures her that his day was alright and it’s nice to be back in their shared den in her presence. He was looking forward to a quiet night with her curled up. He may not have been able to feel as he used to after the infection of his soul, but he knew that despite it all she was still dear to him and brought slight respite to his ever pained existence.

~*~

Many years of working for Reaper and learning the ways of Shadow had changed the young male into what many would consider a monster. The shadows of madness which swirled around him and his once bright yellow eyes now seemed almost violet as they stared down upon an encampment which his master Imperial had sent him to massacre; this encampment was standing in the way of their final goal - though even after all these years, he still hadn’t been trusted with that final goal.

A twisted smile split across his face as his claws dug new gouges into the soft earth. It wouldn’t take the large dragon long to reach the outskirts of the camp, and his favorite part was still that not even the most skilled of night guards would catch sight of his approach. The shadows around him grew thicker as he passed the first folds of the temporary abodes; however, those same shadows which before had been keeping extremely close to his large spine form now slithered just above the ground sneaking out their prey.

They would wrap gently around their forms before entering their dreams to scare them awake, but that would only be the beginning. Once their eyes opened in fright, the wispy shadows would silence their screams and make their dreams play out even before their waking eyes. The game would continue for a few moments in most cases until the darkness entered their bodies and sucked the very life force from their veins. Troy had come to love this method of combined torture and execution. In fact he reveled in it as their fear flooded his system in a sick and twisted symbiosis of their life draining and his being rejuvenating. Yet, at the same time the Ridgeback still hadn’t been able to give up the thrill of a truly physical kill, and so he left the main tent of the leaders for his own. He wanted to feel their blood on his claws and know for certain that his job had been done to the bottom of his soul itself.

Just outside the tent flaps, a deep breath of death tainted air flooded his lungs and a deep rumble left his lungs as a consequence. He burst through the door and everything went white.

~*~

Once more he awoke next to his mate with shame drowning his heart and shakes wracking his body. “Troy..?” Her soft voice seemed to call to him from across a huge canyon though he knew she was settled just beside him in the warmth of their nest. He had massacred a whole camp full of Ninjas and nearly murdered his sister as well as his mate. Heavy breaths filled the room for a few moments more before his tainted eyes met the bloody ones of his mate.

“I’m so sorry..” His hollowed voice breathed out, and the understanding was plain to see as it flooded Anna’s face. The young Imperial merely gave him a soft, loving smile before nuzzling against him gently in a silent sign of forgiveness: over the years she had learned that telling him of her forgiveness and how she had put it behind her would do nothing, but if she showed him kindness and the love she would always have for him through physical means, the night-terrors of relived memories would fade much faster.

His mate was beginning to fall asleep again as the memory is finishing its exit from his being. Tonight will be a long night of wakefulness, but perhaps it will be an atonement for a time so that he can sleep well beside his mate and give him what semblance of love that he can still manage on the morrow’s eve.


	2. Cole: Hard as Stone, Soft as Clay

The first one to rise and the last one to bed had been a life style for Cole since a very young age when he was first handed the rank of clan leader. The dark colors of his vipera hide gave him an intimidating facade to the eyes of a stranger, but that hardened skin of a Snapper hide a soft heart within. A soft enough heart that the clan he raised called him a giant teddy-bear. Though.. That nickname would forever irritate the bulky dragon.

  
He made his normal rounds a slight limp now hampering his stride long before any sort of joint damage should have set in for one of his long lived breed; however, many battles to protect his clan - especially the God of Death himself - had left his body broken beyond his years. All knew this, and yet all of them still saw him as a stone wall against everything that attempts to crash against it, even the tides of time itself if need be. Walking into the machinery shop which was , Cole most definitely did not feel like an unstoppable wall. Each time he stepped foot here he felt completely incompetent seeing as no matter how hard he tried to understand Jay’s attempts to teach him he just couldn’t seem to learn. “Cole!” The energetic Spiral’s voice carried over the whirr of the machines. A wide smile was the Spirals greeting, and with that silent greeting out of the way an excitable circuit breaker of a dragon begins a new tour for his old mentor and guardian.

~*~

To finally stumble out of the shop before sundown was a miracle, and to almost literally run into his boyfriend Zane was even more shocking. Zane was usually with Pixel the robotic Pearlcatcher’s mate. However, despite it being unlikely and the Snapper believing it might be a trick of the light, Cole’s heart lept for a brief moment before he pulled himself together. An air of romanticism seemed to come about the bulky male, and he made sure to to readjust his scarf with a flourished toss over his shoulder. This only elicited a good-natured chuckle from the icy dragon before him. “Well you seem in good spirits after a….” he paused recalculating the next word he wished to use, “an excursion through Jay’s shop of…” once more the pause of gears turning came the maise claws tapping on the white stone below their feet. Finally he decided on the correct wording and smiled again at the Snapper male he had come to after many years of friendship to call his boyfriend. “Jay’s shop of marvelous machinations.”

  
“Yes, I must say I was rather lucky.” He chortled lightly bumping against the other, and while that gentle nudge would have sent most dragons of the clan flying it barely made the hide covered metal frame budged only a few inches. Chitchat ensued as it always did, but both of them relaxed greatly in the other’s presence and voice. They would stay like this walking and talking until the sun had set and the moon was close to it’s apex. It was just the way it had almost always been and probably always would be.


	3. Zane Finding Purpose

Cold as the ice he was created in, Zane was not built for pleasantries. He knew how to be polite and maneuver around the best of folk, but in the end he understood dragon’s emotions as well as he knew himself: none whatsoever. Just as he could control himself and predict what was needed of him in situations, he could predict what another would do in battle or what was needed in order to bring them around to his point of view. Yet no matter how much time he spent contemplating how their emotions drove them to the deepest of love and the darkest of malicious passions he could never understand them any better than he could find or understand what his creator.. No his father… Had given to him as a power source.

“Alright.. What has you up watching the lightning this time, Zane.” The well known gruff voice of the father of the clan broke through the whirring of the other’s mechanical mind. The Pearlcatcher slowly turned his head to look at the sturdy Snapper, and small smile coming upon his lips.

His tail quickly swept his pearl into his front claws before he replied, “Oh merely the normal ones. The emotional charges of dragons, and..” He paused as something akin to what Zane could only assume other naturally born dragons would call apprehension and perhaps even grief flooded his processors. His head turned back allowing his eyes to once more watch the lightning filled skies before finishing his sentence, “father.” There was no need for the alabaster dragon to turn his head in order to know that it’s darker hided companion was nodding in understanding. The earth shook a bit as the bulky male sat back on his haunches beside his boyfriend. This would not be the first time he had waited beside him in complete silence as the other settled his speeding mind’s gears into a relative sense of calm, and it most certainly would not be the last.

Time held no meaning for either of the males as they sat there merely watching the skies as if for some sort of sign, but like every other night none came. Finally as everything came back to a sense of normalcy and calm Cole spoke. “You know he would be proud of you.” Zane could nearly feel a spark within him electrifying his whole being for a split second. “He would be proud that you’ve found people that you’re attached enough to protect against all odds. That despite not being a flesh and blood dragons you’ve found your clan and your mates.” A rough mixture of a huff and a sigh came from the dragon as solid as the earth from which he was born. “Now then. Let’s get you back to camp before Pixel gets worried sick shall we?” With those words he began his struggle to stand seeing as his body was no longer what it used to be.

With a small whirr of appreciation and acceptance, the leader’s mechanical companion rose to his own feet and gave one of his loves the support he needed to stand. Their flanks remained at a distance where they could brush on a rare occasion as they made their way back to and through camp. Only once outside Pixel’s den opening did either of them utter a word. “Thank you..” Was the whispered phrase of goodbye from Zane as he slipped away into the dark of the den. He could only hope that Cole knew what those words meant for this time they meant more than the normal ‘thank you’ of a night spent in silence together. There words were both a thank you for his constant silent and patient vigils as well as his words this particular night. The dragon whose heart was merely an energy source of boundless potential had never once thought that perhaps the thought of failing or disappointing his father was partially to blame for his constant nights looking for a miracle of knowledge, but now that it had been stated, Zane realized that he knew a little more about emotions than at first he had thought. Now he could put some of them to rest as he had seen his companions time and time again.. Because his father would be proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are actually a flash back to the past. They're not super old, but they certainly aren't old. Regardless, they were super fun to write once I got a hold on the characters, and I hope you all enjoyed. Any sort of commentary is always appreciated so don't feel shy to leave a comment about absolutely anything. Especially since I'm just now getting back into writing after a few years of nothing. So if you have critiques that's great, but if all you want to do is tell me that you liked it trust me that's the best praise any writer can ever get. It makes me feel like I should definitely keep writing in general! Kudos are also lovely.~ Hope y'all have a great day/night where ever you are, and best of luck in this game which we call life.
> 
> Signed,  
> EO


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